Family Doesn't End with Blood
by Iris Hanson
Summary: Peter had returned to his "normal" activities after the Lizard, and everything was going as well as it could be. That is, until the Avengers got mixed up in his life, resulting in consequences he didn't want to deal with. Now Peter's dug himself into a hole he's not sure he can get out of. -NO SLASH, WILL CONNECT TO AGE OF ULTRON (so spoilers)-
1. Chapter 1

**THANK YOU to my wonderful beta, ****Emmalie22! ****She's the best thing that's happened to me on this site! I hope you enjoy this story!**

Peter loved being Spiderman.

The adrenaline, the satisfaction of saving people; nothing in his life seemed to compare to unbelievable feeling of being a superhero. Although, the downside was the people he loved were always at risk to be harmed or worse. That's why his identity really needed to be kept a secret, of course minus the fact that the law would be on his ass. He couldn't risk his remaining family or his girlfriend Gwen.

Peter let these thoughts fly away as he slung through the sky, searching New York for petty crime, his expertise. He respected the Avengers, he really did, but they didn't do anything about low level crime, which separated families every day. Petty crime is what tore Uncle Ben away from Peter and his Aunt May. He'd let the Avengers take care of alien invasions, and other threats on that level. He just wondered where they were when Doctor Conners attacked in full out lizard.

In that situation, if the Avengers had come to the rescue, he still would've stayed to finish the problem. The Lizard was his creation and, for all intents and purpose, his responsibility.

The wailing of sirens captured his attention. Peter changed his course, following the ear rattling noise. It led him to the base of the Avengers' Tower, formerly known as Stark Tower.

A man, smartly dressed as someone who would strike an observer as a mugger, held a young girl, maybe fifteen, at gunpoint. The police surrounded him, all guns held steady. Her backpack was tossed on the ground a few feet over; iPhone and wallet lay near an abundance of bills. As far as Peter could tell, she was no average New Yorker. She was someone with cash waiting at home.

Money or not, Peter felt obliged to save her. With great power, after all, comes great responsibility. Even without his spider abilities, he would take his Uncle's words to the grave with him.

Peter landed on the side of the tower, not to many floors up. He hoped it didn't have many defense mechanisms to outsiders, seeing as the Avengers often resided there. When nothing happened, he continued a slow crawl down the side of the building. The last thing he wanted was to be knocked off the building by some stupid defense, resulting in the life of an innocent young girl. He looked up, half expecting to see the infamous Iron Man fly out to the rescue, and then realized the chances of that happening were one to zero. Besides, he probably had more important things to attend to, like maybe building another suit or new tower. It's not like the life of a teenager directly affected _the_ Tony Stark.

Peter threw the resentment behind him for now. Without the Avengers, everyone would be dead or wishing they were, as they'd be under the rule of aliens. Peter couldn't have done anything; he didn't have any powers at that point. Even if he did, he'd have been able to do about jack shit.

"Hey!" Peter called. "Watcha doing buddy?" The mugger quickly craned his head to look at Spiderman, without leaving his back open to the police. "Didn't you hear it's not nice to pick on girls?"

"Mind your own business, Spidey!" the man retorted. The girl whimpered as he tightened his grip. Peter fumed, quickly thinking of some way to distract the man from hurting the girl further. His first priority was to eliminate the gun from the fight. Peter hated guns and found they generally didn't mean good.

"You know, I hear you live longer the less you mug!" Peter yelled. The man growled, his eyes darting between the police and Peter.

"Stay away!" he yelled. "Stay away or I'll shoot her!" He cocked his gun in assurance.

"Now, now," Peter chided. "Guns are for cowards." Before the man could blink, Peter had the man's gun dangling from his own fingers, after switching the safety off, of course. He stuck it to the tower with his webbing, so it was out of the fight for good. "Tucked nice and out 'a sight," sang Peter.

"I can still break her neck!" he replied. Peter hadn't been expecting that, most thugs at that point tried to run. The man deserved more credit than Peter gave him. Not that that was a good thing, not at all. He ran through his options, one immediately coming to mind. The man's strength had nothing against his webbing, or the speed. He wouldn't be able to process the action quick enough.

With that thought, Peter shot off a quick, efficient string of webbing. It latched itself onto the girl's waist, emitting a yelp from her. Surely, no one had been expecting that. Said girl was quickly in Spiderman's arms, too shocked to have even screamed. It had all happened in a matter of seconds.

The police didn't hesitate any longer, before pouncing on the man. Peter thought it was over and begun sliding down the building, his arms securely around the girl who had begun to mumble a consistent _thank you, thank you, thank you_.

"Just doing my job as your friendly neighborhood Spider-" he was cut off by a sudden bolt of power, throwing him and the girl the remaining two floors down to the ground. Before they hit, he shifted and shot a string of web to an overhang, quickly connecting it to the girl's waist saving her from hitting the ground. During the maneuver, Peter lost his grip and fell the remaining one floor to the ground, but nothing he couldn't handle. (Nothing he hadn't done before.)

The girl shrieked, dangling precariously from nothing but a web. Of course, the web wasn't going anywhere, but it had even taken Peter a while to trust its stability. Groaning as he stood, he searched for the source of the blast. He zeroed in on the mugger, who was laughing in glee, staring at his hands in joy.

"It worked!" he cried, his hands thrumming with a green glow. "It really worked!' he thrust his hands out, nearly hitting the girl, but instead blasting a hole in Avengers' Tower.

"Nice aim, Glow Stick!" Peter called. The man, Glow Stick as Peter himself cleverly decided to call him, whipped around till he was facing Peter. The cops, the mostly uninjured ones, that is, had begun rising to their feet, knocked back from the blow. All of the man's attention zeroed in on Peter, as per his plan. No innocents were dying on his watch; Peter would make sure of that.

'Glow Stick' growled, thrusting his hands towards Peter. He jumped, spider sense tingling, and flipped backwards to avoid the blow. He wasn't going onto the offense until he figured out how to case the guy without causing damage to himself and others, Stark's building not included.

The powerful shots the guy was giving off got worse with everyone he took. They sizzled and crackled with power, but turned into glowing green goo as soon as they hit their target. The man also started to glow, more and more, as he got confident in his abilities.

"You're literally a living, breathing glow stick," Peter taunted, avoiding another blow. He had decided to go with his specialty: webs. He also secretly prayed a cop would clip him, as this guy obviously had no mercy. Peter spared a quick glance at the dangling girl, who had tears running down her face, but still holding steady. She wasn't screaming or calling for help, which was fine so long she was out of harm's way.

Peter shot webbing at the man, hoping it would hold. It did, and the man yelled in frustration, trying to rip it off. He was only making his situation worse, and Peter took that time to shoot off more and more webbing, wrapping him in a cocoon better than a straightjacket.

Peter added a bit more, just to be on the safe side, and ignored the man's furious yelling before climbing up the side of the building to retrieve the girl. Her knuckles were white from clenching the webbing, and she looked fearfully at him.

"Hey," he called. "What's your name?"

"A-Arden," she stuttered.

"Okay Arden," Peter started. "I'm just going to get a hold of you with these," he said, pointing the devices on his wrists. "I've already done it to you twice, but I figured you deserved a warning this time." She nodded, grinning a little. "Okay, ready?" She tensed preparing herself. "1, 2, 3-" he wrapped his arms around her tiny waist as quickly as he could, after shooting off his webbing.

She yelped as Peter slid down the building, as slowly as possible. Once they hit ground, her knees buckled, probably in shock. Peter hefted her up and began walking to the ambulance that had pulled up on scene. A paramedic took her from his hands.

"Spiderman!" she called. Peter turned and raised an eyebrow despite being under the mask. "Thank you so much!" He nodded, waving to the surrounding crowd. He also grinned, but she didn't see that. It felt good helping people.

Peter turned, checking on the Glow Stick dude. He was being rolled into a high security van by people in hazmat suits. Peter tried not to laugh at the scene. A commotion from the hole blasted in the tower caught his attention. He assumed all the remaining cops were there, which was why no one had tried to arrest him yet.

"What the hell happened here?" a man yelled, brandishing to the hole. "I leave for an hour. An hour! And there's hole in the side of my building?" Peter assumed it was Mr. Stark himself. Peter held a lot respect for Tony Stark's studies/hero duties, just not for the man himself. He was arrogant, plain and simple, and Peter who was entirely devoted to Gwen couldn't imagine treating women like he did.

Peter was a young male with hormones, but Tony Stark eclipsed him in the irresponsibility category.

"Excuse me, pardon me," Peter repeated tirelessly as he struggled to get through.

He had ducked behind a building, seconds ago, and changed into civilian clothes, and was now pushing through the group of police and bystanders, watching Stark's outrage. "Sir," he called. "Sir!"

"What do you want kid?" Stark asked, annoyance and condescendence clear in his voice.

Peter huffed. "Well when you were out having a coffee break- " the crowd fell silent, and Peter continued almost baking in the moment, "A super villain attacked. Thankfully, Spiderman was there, and the teenage girl caught in the cross fire is still alive no thanks to any of the Avengers."

No one spook. Finally, Stark demanded. "Who are you?"

"Peter. Peter Parker."

"Well then Peter, this doesn't really involve you now, does it?" Tony leered at him.

"You'd be surprised," Peter retorted. People watched the two go at it, amazed at the kids bravery. "You see, Mr. Stark. There was a battle, between to super beings, no less, at the base of your tower. The Avengers' Tower, that is. Obviously, you won't be there all the time, but what about all the other Avengers?"

"We saved the world kid. We deserve a break."

Great power Tony Stark may have, but he knew nothing about responsibility.

"Doesn't Spiderman deserve a break too? The crime doesn't just go away when you aren't there, you know. And what about that weird lizard attack? Where were you then? Spiderman was there, at least."

"Looks like we have a Spiderman fan. Go home to your parents."

"Sorry Stark, but my parents are dead." Peter deadpanned. Tony looked shocked for a moment, before recovering.

"Sorry kid, that's awful and all, there's nothing I can do about it."

"Yeah," Peter glared. "I know," he replied before turning heel and walking away. He'd be dead when he got home to Aunt May, as she sent him out to get eggs two hours ago.

Tony had JARVIS pull up footage from the fight that had blasted a hole in his tower. He had to admit, Spiderman was good. He was faster than everyone, minus the Hulk and maybe Captain or Thor. Other than Tony, he had the best way with words out of everyone. He was more agile the Natasha, and had quicker reflexes than Clint. He was definitely superhuman.

Not to mention his wrist contraptions. Tony zoomed in on them, and they appeared to be made out of bits and scraps of random things. In other words, homemade. So he must be smart too.

What this Peter Parker said struck home. He had never thought about what happened when the Avengers weren't there, and it bothered him. He knew of New York's crime levels, just never bothered to do anything about it.

"JARVIS," he called. "Pull up everything SHIELD has on Spiderman."

"Yes sir," he Al replied. A few moments later, JARVIS began again. "Would you like me to read it to you?"

"Why not?" Tony replied.

"Spiderman's identity has not been confirmed, although it's been narrowed down to a few possible candidates. He helped to bring down the Lizard, known as Doc. Curt Conners."

Tony blanched at that. He had worked with Conners at one point, and determined he was a good guy. "JARVIS, read me the Spiderman candidates."

"They are as follows; John Hanson, Timothy Hills, Andrew Lee, and Peter Parker."

_Peter Parker_.

**Okay sorry if I made Tony seem like a dick, but I needed a rightful season for Peter to get angry. Also, I feel like Spiderman is vastly underrated in these crossover fics. People always down play him as the little hero, but I think you should watch the Avengers and then Spiderman. Don't get me wrong, I think the Avengers are freaking awesome, and I love them, but Spiderman is very high up there in terms of abilities. So in this story, Peter will be able to play at the Avengers level, maybe higher. **

**If you liked this, I need some reviews to continue. They're my motivation ****J**

**PS this is my first crossover fic. **


	2. Chapter 2

By the time Peter had listened to Aunt May's scolding, Tony Stark had pulled up everything there was on Peter Parker. The kid who had managed to make him feel guilty for doing nothing, and someone SHIELD had labeled as a Spiderman suspect.

SHIELD probably could've figured out who Spiderman was, if they really wanted to, but apparently he wasn't a main concern. Besides, Spiderman had only done good things for the city.

It couldn't be a coincidence that Spiderman had saved the day at the base of his tower, then a few minutes later Peter Parker had shown up defending none other than Spiderman himself. Everything Parker had said was spoken as if it was very personal to him, all the more reason to investigate.

Tony Stark didn't know exactly why he wanted to know who Spiderman was, but part of it was how close Spiderman had hit home. Something the vigilante had done had _directly_ affected him, and Tony's curiosity had gotten the better of him. He wasn't stalking; the term was too blunt and disgusting.

Just, keeping tabs, per say.

When JARVIS pulled up tabs on Parker, Tony had been impressed, as Peter was pretty much top of his class at Midtown Science; a _science_ boy, nonetheless. Despite their argument, Tony thought he could make quick friends with the teen.

On the topic of Parker's more depressing tale; his parents both dead in a mysterious plane crash, raised by his aunt and uncle, until his uncle was shot by a robber. If he really was Spiderman, that would explain the personal vendetta towards petty crime.

That brought up the spider powers, and there were a few conclusions that Tony immediately thought of. He was born with them, and didn't act on them until his Uncle's death. (Or just ignored/didn't know about them until then.)

Maybe he had them all along, but something triggered them. His last palpable idea was that they had been recently developed from some sort of experiment or what-not.

Tony knew how to find evidence to back up some of his propositions (despite what the general public frequently forgot, he had taken Stark industries from a regular successful company to a multibillion dollar company that practically dominated the market; research was _easy_) , and decided to start with the first one. He looked up the birth records for Peter Parker, and searched for any complications during birth. There might not necessarily have been any, but if there was, it could easily stem back to mutant powers.

There weren't any, so then Tony decided to look further into Peter's health history. He was searching for any abnormal doctor discoveries or odd trips to the hospital. All Tony found was a broken leg and a case of swine flu.

Digging deeper, he pulled up juvenile records. Peter Parker had a clean slate, minus one small infraction. A while ago he had jumped into a tour at Oscorp with someone else's ID card.

Seeing as nothing was _documented_ in Peter's history that led Tony to believe that Peter had always had his abilities, he moved onto the next theory; something had triggered his dormant powers. (Assumedly being his Uncle's death.)

That got Tony thinking. Most vigilantes were vigilantes because they thought the law wasn't enough. Every hero also had a back story, or reason to do what they do. If Peter was Spiderman, there was no reason for him to be any different.

"JARVIS, tell me the details of Ben Parker's death."

"Sir, Ben Parker was shot in attempt to stop an armed robbery. He bled to death on the sidewalk, his nephew Peter Parker the only one there for his time of passing. The suspect was described to have shoulder length blonde hair, and a star tattoo on his wrist. He was never brought in for questioning."

"That's enough JARVIS. Bring up Spiderman's record of whoever he brought in, preferably around the time when he first showed up."

"He was shown to go after men with shoulder length blonde hair. If there were any witnesses, they reported Spiderman having checked wrists of the criminal," JARVIS informed.

"Okay, that's just too much of a coincidence," Tony spoke to himself. He was interrupted from his thoughts as his "science bro," Bruce, walked in. "Hey green guy!"

"Can I help you, Tony?" Bruce replied, not really paying attention. He continued to sit down with his coffee and newspaper.

"A newspaper Bruce, really? Who reads newspapers nowadays? Minus Rogers, of course. He's old," Tony drawled out the word, skipping over the fact that he was twice Roger's physical age.

"Mhm," was Bruce's reply.

"Are you even listening?" Tony questioned.

"That's fascinating Tony, really."

"You aren't listening," Tony stated flippantly. "Fine, I'll keep my Spiderman theories to myself then."

"So Spiderman, that's your new toy?" Bruce asked, slowly putting down his paper and turning to look Tony in the eye. His glasses slid slightly down his nose, but they only added to disapproving professor image.

"So you_ are _listening?" Tony pointed out.

"Selective hearing, Tony. Selective hearing."

Tony scoffed. "I've been researching-"

"As usual," Bruce interjected. Tony glared, but continued.

"I've been looking into Spiderman. I don't know if you saw the gaping hole in the Tower, but there was a Spiderman fight there with some weird super charged villain who caused said hole. Speaking of which, I should probably get someone working on that. We don't need to make security breaches easy for SHEILD."

Bruce ignored Tony's rant, focusing more on the Spiderman obsession. "Tony, just leave Spiderman alone. If he wanted people to know his identity, he'd have revealed it."

"But I'm not 'people.' We're not just people! Better us than SHIELD, because you know they'll look into it. Besides, they actually already have, that's how I found the name Peter Parker. Other options are _feasible_, but he was my first guess and the facts point to him."

"Even if that was reasonable, what makes you so sure it's this Peter Parker?" Bruce points out. Tony grinned, already having compiled his finds into a file. He brought it up on the glass coffee table Bruce had set his morning beverage on.

Bruce, unfazed, scrolled through Tony's findings. Tony could tell he was genuinely interested, but wasn't going to let him know.

Tony grinned like a kid on Christmas morning; he already started to run through plans in his head. Disastrous, exploding, brilliant plans that would no doubt find him on the receiving end of one of Pepper's rants.

He would deal with it when it came.

"If that doesn't catch your interest, look at this." Tony had pulled up some up Peter's academic records and accomplishments, and noticed an essay he had sent into a science newspaper. It hadn't been published, but he was sure Bruce would be flattered. Flattered enough, hopefully, to give the idea that had started brewing in Tony's head some thought.

Tony pulled the essay up onto the table for Bruce to see, watching as his eyes lit up.

"He wrote a compare and contrast essay on cross species _and_ gamma radiation, with valid information that would not be out of place in a _science journal_? I like this kid," Bruce said. Tony grinned, knowing he had caught his science pal's interest. "I have to admit Tony; you have some decent evidence stacked up here. But we can't just confront the kid, this isn't enough."

"That's where you come in," Tony said. Bruce groaned. "You see, take it from me, but this kid doesn't exactly like me."

"You've met him?" Bruce asked, curious.

"Under rather unpleasant circumstances, yes. We got off on the wrong foot, per say. He's not my biggest fan. But, he's obviously a fan of you; he referenced you in that paper of his." Bruce gave him his full attention. "It would be very believable if you said you saw his essay, one way or another. We can sort out details later, but I'm sure Peter Parker would love to work as the personal intern of Bruce Banner."

"What the hell would I do with an intern, Tony?"

"I'm sure you could think of something, after all, it couldn't hurt to have your own personal lab assistant. Parker is smart enough," Tony retorted. Bruce was silent, silently debating the idea.

"I'll think about it," was his answer. Tony figured he could work with that. It was better than nothing.

* * *

"Tony!" a rather pissed Pepper Potts yelled. "What is this?" she asked, pointing to the file of his Spiderman research he had left open on the coffee table from hours earlier. Pepper had arrived home late from a business trip, annoyed by the fact that Tony had, yet again, left his work lying around. Holographic work or not, it was highly angering for her.

"Well you see," Tony started. "I already told you about the Spiderman fight, which made me curious. Who is Spiderman? SHIELD didn't know, they just had suspects. But then I met this kid earlier after the whole explosion thingy and his name was on suspect list and I was just to curious to ignore it and-"

"Stop right there. I don't want to hear it. You said this was a kid?"

"Yeah, his name was-"

"No!" Pepper cried. "I want to respect his decision to keep his identity anonymous. How would you feel if you were unmasked before you wanted everyone to know? If he's just a kid, his identity getting out could ruin his life!"

"But I won't tell anyone!" Tony whined. "Not even SHIELD!"

"No Tony, you stop this obsession now! Spiderman has done nothing but good and he the least he deserves is his identity kept a secret. That's his choice to make, not yours!"

Tony huffed, "Fine." Pepper glared and turned heel, storming to their bedroom. Regardless of whether or not Tony was continuing his investigation, he would make sure Bruce continued his.

* * *

Peter was dozing off as he stared out the window in his AP Biology, fifth period. Sighing in relief as the bell rung, he stood and prepared to leave.

"Peter," his teacher called.

He halted. "Yeah?"

"I've received an internship request for you, specifically."

This caught his attention, and excitement. "Really? Who?"

"Bruce Banner, have you heard of him?"

Peter nearly choked. "Bruce Banner? How'd he hear of me?" Peter asked, his excitement not very well contained.

His teacher continued, "Apparently he saw an essay you'd written on cross species and gamma radiation."

Peter remembered immediately, having been very proud of his work. It hadn't been published sadly, but he had actually enjoyed writing it, nonetheless.

He didn't care of when, or where. He wasn't going to pass up an opportunity like this.

"Can you tell him I say yes? Oh, and pass on my number please," he rattled off his number, wanting to confide in Gwen as quickly as possible. His day was definitely looking up. He turned to leave, but his teacher spoke up.

"Peter, I need to write you a pass."

"Oh yeah," Peter remembered. He didn't remember telling his teacher his destination, didn't care. He was too happy. He, Peter Parker, was going to be working with Bruce Banner. Uncle Ben would be proud.

* * *

"Tony!" Bruce called.

"Hold on!" was Tony's reply. He was neck deep in some experiment or other, and hardly wanted to be deterred.

"Peter accepted," Bruce interjected.

"Accepted what?" Tony asked.

"Really Tony? He accepted the internship, remember?"

"Of course I remember. I just forgot, for like a second. Take that stick outta your ass, Banner."

Bruce rolled his eyes, expecting no less from Tony. Tony: Billionaire, playboy, genius, but terrible memory. He had the attention span of a two year old.

"He starts Monday, by the way. So I expect you to leave me alone in my part of the lab," Bruce demanded.

"No problem," Tony lied. "I'll be sure to stay out of the probably Spiderman's way."

Bruce sighed. Tony was going to be a pain in the ass. That much he was sure of.

**It's a bit short, sorry. But I hope everyone likes it! There will be more action in future chapters, and I'm so happy with all the positive feedback and constructive criticism that I got! Thanks so much guys!**

**Again, Thanks to my awesome beta, Emmalie22! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Well I started high school and it officially sucks. There's nothing spectacular, just more busy work and the impending doom that your grades really do matter at this point. I haven't really had much of a weight, but it was longer than in-between the first two chapters. This, of course, being due to school starting.**

**Thanks to my lovely beta, E****mmalie****! (Her username is in past chapters if you'd like to check her out.) This story wouldn't have made it without her. **

**Also, I'm soooooooooo happy with all the positive attention this story had been getting. Over 40 comments and 90 follows in just two chapters! More than I could've imagined it would ever get! And again, in just two chapters! I'm just so happy with this! The more positive and constructive reviews I get the more incentive I have to write this story. **

**Anyone who writes knows that you aren't always inspired. And sometimes I just don't feel like writing, and then I remember what it feels like to read an un-completed story on Fan Fiction, and I have to write for you guys. Otherwise I'd be a hypocrite. **

**Please enjoy! (And its common knowledge Spiderman isn't mine.)**

* * *

Peter's internship went smoothly. He spent much of his time in the labs with Bruce, and if he was lucky, Tony was there. Peter would never admit to it, and neither would Tony, but they have grown on each other and their snippy banter became more affectionate and less hostile as time passed

Bruce sighed, his hand running through his hair. It was nice to have Peter working with him, as he was a very, very smart boy, but he remembered his original intentions upon hiring him. Tony did too, as he was constantly asking him to somehow get a sample of Peter's blood. He wanted to check it for any DNA that wasn't human, which was easier said than done.

Not to mention Bruce's guilty conscience. Even if Peter was completely capable of being his intern, more than capable, he was hired purely on his and Tony's -mostly Tony's- curiosity. It went against his morals, but he went along with it, grudgingly, because of Tony. It often seemed that Tony was the only one who wasn't secretly afraid of him, and he treasured their friendship. He didn't want to jeopardize it.

He was shaken by his thoughts by Peter's surprised yell, "Dr. Banner! Norman Osborn died last night!"

"What?" he said more to himself, he wasn't a very loud person. "What happened?" he asked Peter, who was glued to the television.

"His disease…" Peter drifted off. The newscaster continued on about Dr. Osborn's son, Harry Osborn. He had inherited all of Oscorp Industries. "Harry," Peter whispered. Bruce had watched the whole thing, noticing Peter's stunned and saddened state.

"What's wrong Peter?" he questioned gently.

"It's just that, Harry used to be my friend. But his dad shipped him out to boarding school ten years ago with no goodbyes." Peter sighed, "This is the first I've seen of him since then."

"Why don't I give you the day off, then? See if you can go connect to him," Bruce suggested.

"Thanks," Peter said, thinking about doing some Spiderman things as well. It couldn't hurt to use his time wisely. He classified saving people as a wise use of one's time, at least in his book.

Peter debated whether or not he should go by subway (he wasn't about to pay for a cab) like a normal person, or go full on Spiderman just in case he spotted trouble along the way. It was never a bad idea to be prepared, and he wanted to get to Harry quicker. His curiosity was getting the better of him, and the fact that he hadn't seen Harry in many years also played a part.

He decided as he dashed out of Stark Tower, or Avengers', depending on how you look at it, that he was going to travel via spider. Pulling on his suit in a deserted alley, he stored his backpack by webbing it to an uptight and out of sight place, planning on coming back to it later. His phone was shoved into a discreet pocket, though how it remained so camouflaged in a spandex suit was a mystery to all.

He took the skies, observing the city for any immediate danger. Seeing none, he continued on his original course. He'd be lying if he said he wanted to reach Oscorp with as little trouble as possible.

It was just his luck, of course, that a rogue, not so mentally sane man had hijacked one of Oscorp's plutonium transportation trucks. Dropping down on top of the runaway truck, he didn't try to hide his annoyance.

"Seriously dude, I've got better things to be doing!" Peter seethed.

The man laughed manically, "Look everyone! It's the little bug!" he turned on his windshield wipers as if to prove a point.

"Mother of god-" Peter was not in the mood. He grabbed the two cleaners and ripped them clean off the truck, only spurring another round of laughter from the man. Peter looked up, observing his surroundings in careful watch of any oblivious bystanders.

A black man was crossing the street, completely unaware at the truck coming high speed at him. It looked as though he just left Oscorp, which was approaching rapidly, and was holding more than a handful of blueprints. Peter jumped off his current ride in favor of diving into the civilian's side to move him from harm's way.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked, helping the man up, mindful of the still pressing situation.

"You- you're Spiderman!" the man exclaimed.

"Yeah, and you're Max," he spoke, reading Max's ID. "Now those look important," he announced, webbing the scattered blueprints and bringing them back with ease.

"You know my name?" Max's eyes widened, flabbergasted.

"It's on your ID," he informed, grabbing it in show. "Now Max, you're my eyes and ears around here. I'm going to take care of the guy, and you keep a watch around here. Can you do that?"

Max nodded, looking overwhelmed.

"See yeah, Max!" he called, his mind already processing the best options for controlling the hijackers, slinging after the less appealing men. He noticed that the back of the heavy duty truck had opened; plutonium bottles almost off their safe shelves. He jumped inside, trying to prevent them from escaping.

"Hey you, and you! Come to papa, nice little guys. Stay with Daddy!" he said aloud as he gathered them with every appendage he owned. He sighed in frustration as one lone capsule rolled away from him. "Damn."

He jumped from the truck, letting the rest of the bottles go. Less than a second later, in a feat that would rival any Olympic gymnast, they were carefully bunched together in a cocoon. He continued his chase after the lone ranger dancing into the street.

"Got you!" he called, as he jumped into the middle of traffic. A blaring horn caught his attention. He turned, muttering an, "Oh crap," before being slammed into by a not so soft truck. He hitched a ride on the front, using his mistake to his advantage. The crazy rage man wasn't far ahead, anyways.

His phone rang, and still holding onto the bottle he pulled it out. "Gwen?"

"Peter, where are you? You're supposed to be here!"

"Be where? Oh shit!" he yelled. "I was going to head over after I told Bruce about graduation! Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!"

With everything going on in his life, graduation only signified the end of having to make excuses for late homework. Or not, he supposed, with college on the way.

"Peter, are those_, sirens_?" Gwen accused.

"Sirens! Of course not! Why would there be sirens?" he nervously stuttered.

"Peter!" she whisper yelled. "What are you doing? Where are you?"

"First and Broadway, second and Broadway, third and Broadway… You know what, never mind. I'll be there soon!" he hung up, fully prepared to hear about this later from Gwen. He had to finish this quick.

He tensed, jumping to the car in front of him. Then the next, and the next, and the next, until he was back on the stolen vehicle. Cracking his knuckles, and praying the crazy man didn't have his seatbelt on, he leapt into action. Harry would have to wait.

* * *

_"__I know that we all think we're immortal, we're supposed to feel that way; we're graduating. The future is and should be bright, but, like our brief four years in high school, what makes life valuable is that it doesn't last forever, what makes it precious is that it ends. I know that now more than ever. And I say it today of all days to remind us that time is luck. So don't waste it living someone else's life, make yours count for something. Fight for what matters to you, no matter what. Because even if you fall short, what better way is there to live? As we look around here today, at all of the people who helped make us who we are, I know it feels like we're saying goodbye, but we will carry a piece of each other into everything that we do next, to remind us of who we are, and who we're meant to be."_

* * *

"Peter Parker," a silence followed as the soon to be graduate's name was called. "Peter-"

Peter rushed onto the stage, backpack on, but was in the formal attire nonetheless. His diploma was handed over, and he grinned. After four years, _finally_. Gwen reached to shake his hand, as she had done to all the other students due to her being valedictorian. She was startled as Peter pulled her in for something much better than a handshake.

There were whoops and hollers as Peter kissed Gwen, and he could only imagine his Aunt's face, but he didn't care. As he pulled back, he grinned at her before leaving the stage, heading to his designated seat.

The rest of the names called past in a blur, but despite his giddiness at graduating, Harry was one constant in his thoughts. He felt guilty, but decided on going to visit before having dinner with Gwen's family that night.

After the ceremony, he went off to find his Aunt.

"Peter!" he heard her call. Peter turned into his Aunt's arms as they embraced him. "I wish your Uncle were here to see you. He'd be so proud."

"Me too Aunt May." He replied, students swarming around and a cacophony of congratulations twisted into a constant buzz of noise with his enhanced senses.

"And I'm proud too," she said pulling back. "More than you could ever imagine."

"Thanks Aunt May," he said, craning his neck to find Gwen.

"Can't wait to get rid of your Aunt, huh?" Aunt May's tone was light, teasing, and full of love.

"What? No, of course not," he blushed, having been caught in the act.

Aunt May laughed, "Go find her Peter." She gave him a light shove, watching as her baby boy walked away.

* * *

"Harry," Peter called to the figure at the top of the grand set of stairs. He waited, more nervous than before. It had taken some convincing for the guards to let him into this point, and he was more than afraid that Harry would blow him off.

"If it isn't Peter Parker," was the reply. It wasn't cold necessarily, but neither was it welcoming.

"I'm sorry about your dad, Harry." Peter sounded sincere, even if Harry didn't want to see him. He understood the pain of losing parents, more than once over.

"Thanks, and I heard about your uncle. I'm sorry too."

That meant a lot to him.

"It's not your fault," the guilt of his Uncle's death gnawed away at him. After a few moments of silence, Peter saw Harry moving down the steps. When he reached a mere two steps away, Harry spoke again.

"I've missed you, geek," the friendly teasing world caused him to let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding.

Peter laughed. "Shut up you idiot," he could feel the ice melting. Ten years of separation and they were still best friends. They would always be best friends. Sometimes people just worked like that. "I missed you too."

* * *

**In the upcoming chapter I'm going to clear up any confusion about why Peter was working on graduation day. This definitely wasn't my best chapter, I was in a rush. **


	4. Chapter 4

**I promise more Avengers action is coming up! I know there hasn't been much yet, but it is coming! Just read on…**

**Also I'm incorporating the Black Panther into this chapter, for those of you that know him. (My beta informed me of him, and he's pretty cool.) **

· **The Black Panther****uses vibranium in a micro weave mesh in his uniform that robs incoming objects of their momentum. He also cannot be stabbed, although the costume and the Black Panther can be cut if the attacker slashes along the uniform's grain. Beyond that he uses vibranium in the soles of his boots that allows him to survive a fall of several stories and, if given enough momentum, the Panther can also scale walls or skim across water. The field can be also used offensively to shatter or weaken objects, such as kicking something with the boots. He also used the other variety Anti-Metal, in retractable claws.**

· **Aka, the Black Panther is not a villain. **

* * *

Peter couldn't believe himself lying in bed the night of his graduation. He had had his day planned out so well, but by the end of it, it had all been complete and utter shit. At least most of it had. He did see Harry, stop some hijackers, and graduate. But he had almost missed his graduation. He did miss his _former_, stress on the _former_, girlfriend's speech. They had broken off at dinner.

He hadn't told anyone, but Gwen probably had her theories, at least about why Peter had broken up on her. In fact, they weren't theories, because Peter had confirmed them. The guilt of going against Captain Stacy's last words had gnawed away at him, reducing him to a quivering, hallucinating mess. He saw the man everywhere he went, the betrayed, disappointed look on his face. Peter couldn't take it anymore, and besides, the man was right. He was a danger to Gwen; she could be used as bait far too easily.

And as to the fact of why he almost missed his graduation, well that was just his lack of not wanting to disappoint Bruce. Now that he thought about it, it was stupid really, but he hadn't wanted disappoint Bruce by not showing up for work at all. He wanted to slap himself, because if he had just told Bruce it was his graduation, well a lot of problems could have been avoided. But the stress of his hallucinations had got to him, and he wanted to go to the lab for just a few hours before graduation, and then tell Bruce he had to go. At least he'd have shown up.

But then the news story about Harry had come on, and the shock of seeing his lost friend had been too distracting.

Peter didn't notice the migraine until it was acting full blast upon him, but didn't bother to go get any pain relievers. He preferred wallowing in his own misery. He had no girlfriend; his uncle didn't get to see him graduate either. Or his parents, for that matter, although that wasn't as painful. They had died a long, long time ago.

Peter lay awake all night, his thoughts wandering everywhere; from the simplest, to the most important things. By the time his alarm rang, he had nothing left to think about. He rolled over slowly, all the way onto the floor. Now, of course, he felt he could sleep. It was a good thing he didn't have any school for a while, just his internship with Bruce.

What he really needed was to stop at a gas station on the way to work, where he could pick out something extremely awful for you snacks. (Mostly 5-hour energy.)

Peter grabbed some semi decent clothing, not bothering too much. Bruce had chastised him until he wore more casual clothing to the lab. Tony couldn't have cared less.

"Aunt May!" Peter called. "I'm leaving!" he said, while grabbing an apple, his backpack over his shoulder.

"Call me later, Peter!" she replied from her bedroom. She must've been downstairs at one point, because the TV was blaring with the news. Peter tended to avoid the news channel the day after he skipped a night out as Spiderman. He didn't really like to see who he didn't save when he was too exhausted to swing through the city at night like the vigilante he was.

Call it survivor's guilt, even though it technically wasn't his fault. But with great power came great responsibility, and Peter ran himself into the ground fulfilling that motto.

He rode the subway as close as he could get to the Tower, walking the last few blocks. He was slightly miffed when he stepped in a large mud puddle. This had always been his weekend routine. On school days he came straight from school, and if he had the time, he stopped at home, did his HW and left to do his nightly duties when Aunt May went to bed.

He didn't always just work at night, but during his spare time in the day too. He always made sure to set some time aside for Gwen as well, but that wasn't going to be an issue now, he thought bitterly. Shaking his head, he reminded himself he couldn't be selfish, it was for her safety. Nothing was more important to him than Aunt May's and Gwen's safety.

His eyes wandered to the tower that scaled the sky, no less impressed even though he saw it almost every day. It was an architectural wonder, even if it wasn't the prettiest building ever to go up. You didn't have to be a genius to know _a genius_ was behind its construction.

He pulled out his Stark Industries card, getting through security very quickly, though he was fairly sure that the entire first floor work force new him by name.

He needed the card to get to the lab, as the elevator wouldn't allow him to those floors without certain security clearance. The labs where in the basement, due to safety precautions. No one wanted experiments gone wrong flying through all the floors, possibly resulting in fatalities.

Peter quickly stepped out of the elevator when it reached its destination, JARVIS greeting him.

"Hello Mr. Parker. Dr. Banner and Tony are in room 124a," he informed Peter.

"Thanks JARVIS," Peter replied. Room 124a was the main lab and it was where Peter spent most of his time here. The cement walls felt very enclosing to him, but Peter quickly got used to it. His spider sense always tingled in the back of his head when he was down here, probably because all of the experiments and lack of escape routes.

Peter didn't bother knocking as he entered the lab, as he was chastised the few times he had. Apparently politeness was frowned upon in Stark's residence. It wasn't all that surprising, considering who made the rules. Tony Stark was not known for his politeness, or his maturity, and probably never would.

"Hey Bruce," Peter greeted.

"Good morning Peter," was Bruce's reply, versus Tony's, "What's up kid?"

Emphasis on the kid, as Tony always made comments and gripes about Peter's age, for whatever reason. It was just another one of Tony's quirks, one that he had become well accustomed with.

None the less, Peter often noticed a side of Tony that Tony didn't always want people to see, the side that really cared for others' wellbeing.

"So what're we going to do today?" Peter inquired, "are we just going to continue yesterday's project or-"

"Actually," Tony interrupted. "I was thinking about taking out the Vibranium today."

Peter chocked on the coffee he had picked up.

"Vibranium?" he asked, shocked. "You have Vibranium just lying around?"

"Actually no," Tony explained. "I have some Vibranium under heavy lock and key."

Peter sputtered, "Where'd you manage to get Vibranium?"

"Yeah," Bruce interjected. "I was wondering the same thing."

Tony grinned, as if remembering a fond memory. "Well, I'd say that's a story for another time, but I really don't plan on sharing it. Can't tell you all my secrets."

Peter grinned, despite his annoyance. Tony brought out smiles in the worst of times, despite his not so charming persona.

"So where is it?" Peter inquired, watching Tony carefully. Tony grinned, turning on heel. He disappeared into the depths of the lab, returning with a fairly small chunk of medal.

Bruce looked at it curiously, thinking out loud. "That's not its original form, correct?"

"Bingo!" said Tony. "It was melted down; easier to transport and less conspicuous looking."

"That makes sense, I guess," Peter thought. "But what exactly are we going to do with it?"

Tony frowned. "I really don't know. Whatever we want, I suppose. Maybe we can add some embellishments to my suit." He had already shuffled away to his corner of the lab, leaving just Peter and Bruce.

"So Peter," Bruce started. "Did you talk to Harry yesterday?"

"Yeah, we're going to hang later. And I also - um, well I graduated too yesterday."

Bruce's eyes widened. "Why didn't you say anything? I would've given you the day off."

"I don't know," Peter shrugged. "I was just going to tell you in person then I got distracted by Harry." With that, Bruce turned back to his work, sighing under his breath.

"Why don't you get check on Tony, make sure he's not being too dangerous," Bruce suggested. Peter grinned, obliging.

The lights cut out with a grown, quickly followed by the flickering lights of the machinery as well. The lab was dead silent.

"What the hell?" Tony cried from somewhere to Peter's left. "I have as many back-up generators as a hospital!"

"I'll be damned if I knew," Bruce supplied. "Are you okay Peter?"

Peter turned towards the noise, stubbing his toe in the process. He groaned, managing to answer.

"I'll be fine," he groaned again, clutching his foot.

A quick, quiet creek could be heard in the distance, though Peter doubted anyone else could hear it. He stilled, straining to hear further. He shushed Tony as he spoke up again.

"Listen!" he whisper-yelled, hoping he was imagining things. If someone was here; normally Peter would think he had the upper hand in the dark due to his spider-sense. But if they, whoever they were, were behind the power outage they presumably were comfortable in the dark as well.

A screech could be heard again, and much louder, before the lab was covered with silence again. For the most part, at least; their breathing was the only thing heard.

"Hey Tony?" Peter called.

"Yeah?" he replied.

"Now would be a good time to get your suit." The sounds of humming could be heard as Tony tapped away at something on his wrist. Peter thought it was, at least, as Tony had gone into an in depth description of it a few days earlier.

Peter hesitantly thumbed the web shooters on his wrists, not wanting to have to use them. His identity would be revealed just like that; you didn't have to be a genius to put two and two together.

Peter eventually made it over to Tony, who was suited up and waiting. Less than a minute had passed, and more creeks and groans of metal moving could be heard.

Tony's head was moving to and fro, as he couldn't pinpoint the location of the noise. They shifted each time, coming in intervals of a half minute, but they were quickly increasing in tempo.

Peter could just barely make out a shape, and he immediately noticed the size difference between him and himself. That wouldn't be a problem unless the person was superhuman.

Why was he here? Was he after something? There were a plethora of things in the lab, but Peter's eyes flickered towards the hunk of Vibranium on the table. It couldn't be a coincidence; if the person turned off the power in a genius Avenger/billionaire/genius's skyscraper, surely he could have been watching them for this opportune moment.

Not thinking twice, Peter grabbed the metal and hid it in his hoodie pocket. Tony watched him, but didn't stop him. He must've come to a similar conclusion. He nodded his head towards the right, and Peter scurried away.

His palms sweated with anticipation, knowing the inevitable couldn't be put off much longer. He just hoped this was a battle he or Tony could win, and that Bruce was hiding like he _should_ be. Peter would have been hiding too if it weren't for his superpowers.

His spider sense tingled and he jumped up, hands and feet clinging to the ceiling. Below him was a man, judging by his build. He was dressed in all black, a glimmering set of claws adorning his fingers and a gleaming set of knives at his side.

Peter hated knives, really.

The heavy weight was still in his pocket, and he quickly scaled the ceilings, moving anywhere but there. The man sent his spider sense crazy; a constant buzzing and ringing behind his eyes and in his ears.

Peter eventually looked over his shoulder, only to find the man a few feet away, staring at him. Tony was nowhere in sight.

"Who are you?" Peter asked dumbly. His only response was the movement of the guy's arm, a small black box in his fingers. His spider sense flared before going haywire as the man pressed a button on the box, seemingly sending a long, high-pitched frequency to his head.

Peter's hands clawed at his ears, before losing his grip on the ceiling and falling the good, long 12 feet onto his back. His breath left him with a whoosh, yet the noise still remained in his head, increasing in frequency as he kept struggling.

His movements eventually became sporadic, almost seizure like. The man hovered over him, and he wondered where Tony and Bruce where. A clawed hand gently reached inside his pocket and grasped the metal, dragging it out.

A deep, accented voice mixed with the ringing, clouding his other senses too. "I'm the Black Panther."

Peter lay still until Tony found him, followed shortly by Bruce. They apparently had been knocked out by a gas, one that stayed mainly stationary to its release point. On any other given day it would have fascinated Peter.

Not today. His ears had been bleeding, and although those wounds had healed, he still twitched occasionally as the ringing dulled. He was propped on his side and Tony rolled him over, Bruce looming over his shoulder.

"Hey kid, you okay?"

All Peter did was nod, and slowly sit up. Tony held his shoulders for a few seconds before standing and holding his hand out. He was still suited up, but his face mask was retracted.

Peter accepted the hand, coming to a shaky stance. His fingers shook, no matter how hard he tried to still them. His toes tingled too.

"I'm sorry Tony. He got the Vibranium."

"No one blames you Peter," said Bruce. Peter smiled gratefully at him.

"Who cares, anyways? I'll just get more. I have my ways," Tony grinned.

"Do you know who he was?" Bruce asked no one in particular.

"Yeah," Peter said. "He called himself the 'Black Panther'."

"I've heard of him," Tony mused. Peter sighed.

"I think I'm going to go home," Peter said as the power suddenly turned back on. No one objected as he slowly made his way towards the exit. "I'll see you tomorrow."

* * *

Tony's eyes followed the faint mud tracks Peter's shoes left behind. He then turned to see if Peter left a trail when he ran away with the Vibranium, but didn't see any. Cocking his eyebrow, he pondered possible situations. Unless if the Black Panther had carried Peter all the way to this point, and that didn't seem likely, there weren't many options. He could see clearly from here that there had been footprints leading all the way to the place where the Vibranium was originally.

Even from there were a few foot prints leading to his current standpoint, but those disappeared too. Tony looked up, not hiding his surprise at all.

"Holy shit."

* * *

**GUYS. How was this chapter? I kind of liked it, but it was mostly for this very end part and to clear up the last chapter. I made my varsity hockey team as a freshman, and we practice 6/7 days for at minimum 1.5 hours- so sorry for the delay…**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for the LONG wait! Hope this chapter makes up for it! Finals are coming to a close, summer is close enough to taste, so I think I'll be updating more often than I have in the past. Although I will have hockey three days a week and I'll be at my cabin every weekend so those are no/limited typing days really… **

**Regardless, I hope to update sooner. I'm going to try to write some chapters ahead in advance so I can update more regularly for you. But I won't start the next chapter until after the last day of school. (June 5****th****, so not that long of a wait.) Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Even though it's not really action packed, I think it really does move the plot along. Especially because Peter learns a lot more and so does Tony too I guess. You'll have to find out for yourself. **

**REVIEWS! They are my main motivation. Anyone who writes on here understands. If people don't respond to my writing, I feel as if they're bored with the story, even if that's not true. It feels so great to see people take the time to write something out for me and it spurs my creative process. If you ask me questions, give advice, etc. I'll respond!**

**Anyways, here it goes! Enjoy!**

* * *

CHAPTER 5:

_ "We know who you are."_

_ "Excuse me?" Peter stammered, doing his best to keep a surprised facade up. Not to say that he wasn't surprised, but it was more shock. He wanted to look genuinely confused. "What, exactly am I?"_

_ "Look kid," Tony said. "I'm not going to throw you under the bus or anything; neither is Bruce."_

_ "I'm sorry, I don't follow," Peter lied as smoothly as possible. Tony looked a mix between exasperated, triumphant, and pitiful. _

_ "Peter Parker- your ordinary science geek by day, and vigilante by night."_

_ "What exactly are you accusing me of?" Peter tried to act angry. He was really scared. _

_ "I'm not accusing you of anything, just confronting." Tony wished Banner was here, he'd be better at this than him. Tony sighed. _

_ Peter ran a hand through his mousy hair. "You think I'm Spiderman, don't you?" _

_ Tony smirked- he couldn't help himself. "Your words, not mine, but basically yeah. SHIELD has had you on their radar for a while now, so just be thankful it's me and not them."_

_ "You actually think I'm Spiderman?" Peter laughed. He prayed to whatever deity was out there that it sounded truthful. He didn't even ask what 'SHIELD' was._

_ "I don't think, I know," Tony replied. _

_ Peter's confidence crumbled just a bit. "Regardless of how stupid you sound right now, does this mean I was only recruited for your interest in Spiderman?" He hoped it wasn't the case, although the answer wasn't all that surprising. _

_ "Initially, yeah. It was pure coincidence you happened to be worthy enough to fit the job. But Bruce would really have hired you under different circumstances; this was just how we happened to come across you."_

_ Peter tried, and failed, to hide his disappointment at being used. "Whatever, I'm still not Spiderman," he pretty much mumbled. He paced to the other side of the room, gazing out at the sky scrapers. It was midday; the worst of crimes __had __yet to occur. _

_ His eyes were downcast and back turned to Tony when his spider sense went off like a firecracker. He jumped up as some sort of silent projectile whizzed past where his head had been, shattering the glass in front of him. _

_ He turned, shocked, to Tony. _

_ "You're lucky I'm fast enough!" he yelled. He realized his mistake as soon as it escaped his mouth. Peter stood rigid, awaiting Tony's reaction. He didn't know what else to do._

_ "I knew it!" Tony cried. Peter's hands flew to his head, groaning. Eyes wide, he shook his head. _

_ "No- no, no, no, no, this can't be happening! Do you realize what you just did?" He was breathing in and out, far too fast for his liking. "Iron Man knows my fucking secret! Do you know what these means?" Peter yelled._

_ Tony stood with his mouth still open. "Look kid, I know you're mad, but-" _

_ Peter spluttered, "Understatement of the millennia! If the Black Panther turned off all of your power, he can easily access all surveillance. Who knows who else can do that?" He crouched, his hands still knotted in his hair, before standing seconds later. "They're not safe anymore! Gwen, Aunt May; you ruined everything! Did you stop to think of the effect this would have on anyone other than you, huh?"_

_ Tony remained shell-shocked. _

_ Peter breathed hard, his whole body dangerous. "I didn't think so." Before Tony could protest, Peter turned and dove out the open window. He didn't bother with a mask, he was too high up. _

_ By the time Tony made it to the window, Spiderman had already disappeared in the horizon. _

* * *

That was the last time Peter had _really_ talked to anyone for a week. He had called his Aunt, and told her he'd be at Harry's- supporting him after his father's recent death a few days ago. She had understood, not that that surprised him in the least. It was in her nature.

As for Gwen, he didn't really need to say anything. They hadn't spoken since the night of their breakup.

Peter felt afraid. Not for himself, but for the people he loved. He knew what he had said to Tony was farfetched; no one had any reason to hack into his video surveillance. But this 'SHIELD' scared him more, and the way Tony hadn't spoken extremely fondly about it/them. He knew nothing about them, and if Tony knew who he was, maybe they did too.

Tony had also said they had been keeping an eye on him specifically, which wasn't in the least bit comforting. So yes, Peter Parker was avoiding his troubles, if only temporarily. His time with Harry would only last so long.

He knew he was being very superstitious, but he had never felt so exposed. Not even with Gwen. Besides, he didn't want to take any more risks with the safety of Aunt May and his _ex_-girlfriend.

He currently had a cheapo $25 new flip phone and that was all he really had, besides the clothes on his back. Of course, Harry was generous enough to lend him clothes, but they weren't exactly his style. So Peter figured it was time to check in on Aunt May and grab a change of clothes, not to mention his toothbrush.

Peter had no doubt the Tony knew where he was, and if he didn't know now he'd find out quickly enough if Peter used his spider abilities to get home. So that was how he ended up taking the subway. Regardless of his mundane choice of transportation, Peter kept his hood up and his face hidden.

He steadied himself on a pole as the train to a screeching halt; this was his stop. He quickly walked out into the musky underground boarding area, avoiding contact with anyone. Even if he was overreacting, Peter would rather be safe than sorry.

He honestly believed Tony when he said he wouldn't tell anyone. But Tony had mentioned this 'SHEILD' thing, and how Peter had been on their radar. Now he couldn't stop wondering what 'SHEILD' was and why they were watching him.

He figured it was because they thought he was Spiderman, but that's what stumped Peter. But when he thought about it, he realized how un-careful he was when he first started his gig in order to avenge Uncle Ben. Peter was always careful nowadays, covering his tracks. Either way, he needed to step it up a notch.

By the time he found himself at his home, it was close to noon. It was also a Sunday, his aunt's day off.

"Aunt May?" he called as he stepped into the doorway, keys jangling in the lock. "Anyone home?" The house was silent for only a few seconds.

"Fancy seeing you here, Peter," Tony said, stepping into the hallway. Peter's face soured.

"Get out of my house," he demanded. Tony laughed, but it was really more of a scoff.

"It's not really your house if you don't even live in it. Last time I checked you were having a prolonged sleepover at that boy Harry's house," Tony pointed out.

"How'd you know where I was?" Peter asked.

"Did you _really_ need to ask?" Tony said scathingly. "I thought you were smarter than that. I'm Tony Stark, you can't outsmart me Peter."

"Yeah, well I can try," he mumbled.

"What was that?" Tony asked.

"Nothing," Peter said as he turned to leave.

"Hey, wait up Parker!" Tony yelled as Peter started walking away. Peter paused, but didn't turn to face Tony yet.

"What could you possibly have to say to me?" Peter asked quietly.

"Look kid, I'm sorry. It was only a matter of time until someone found out-"

"Who's 'SHEILD?'" Peter interjected. Tony groaned.

"SHEILD, aka _Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division_," Tony huffed.

"Wait, what?" Peter said, turning back around to face Tony.

"Basically, your everyday, average secret agency that knows more about you than you do," Tony paused for effect. "But they focus more on people like you these days. Like I said, it was only a matter of time before you were found out."

"You said I was already on their radar?" Peter prompted. "Why didn't they do anything?"

"It's probably because they don't care. They had a few other people as possible candidates, but if they wanted to they could narrow it down in the blink of an eye," he explained.

"So why don't they?" Peter asked.

"Trust me Parker; they have much bigger problems on their hands than a helpful vigilante. But as soon as you turned into a threat, they'd be on your ass so fast."

"So who's a bigger problem now?" Peter tried.

"I don't think I'm really allowed to tell you," Tony said without any regret whatsoever. "Besides, I already broke so many rules telling you this."

"And you're all of a sudden above breaking rules?" Peter said without mirth. Tony smirked.

"Some things aren't meant to be thrown around, Peter," Tony said more seriously. Peter frowned.

"Do you know where my aunt is?" he asked. Tony nodded.

"She's working a shift at the hospital. She left you a note just in case, told you to stop washing the American flag?" Tony said questioningly. "I think I know… but I'm not going to ask," Tony finished, smug.

Peter blushed sheepishly. "Oops."

Tony pushed past him to car that pulled itself up to his front walk.

"Did that car just drive itself?" Peter asked, astounded

"Well yeah, you could say that. Technically it was JARVIS." Tony looked back at Peter. "Well, are you coming? I'll introduce you to the Captain, or something."

Peter gulped. "As in Captain America?"

"Yep," Tony said. He paused at Peter's expression. "Seriously, Cap is so _sickeningly_ full of honor; your secret is going nowhere with him."

"Are we just going to throw my secret around now?" Peter pointed out. "Well, I guess it's hardly a _secret_ at this point," he said sarcastically.

"Is this going to be an increasing issue? Your spitefulness?" Tony asked, miffed, as he continued his walk to the car. Peter huffed, but followed him anyways.

The ride to the tower was full of one-sided conversations. Tony dragged on about all the improvements he was going to make to Spiderman's suit, his web shooters, and the works. But Peter found himself zoning out while watching the buildings and homes pass by, until they pulled into Tony's private garage.

Tony thumped the back of his head. "Hey kid, it's time to roll," he said. Peter nodded glumly, suddenly feeling faint as if he had swallowed his tongue.

During the journey to the top section of the tower, the part he'd never been allowed in, Tony continued to ramble a whole other group of one-sided conversations. Tony talked endlessly about his other lab; the one that was strictly his and Bruce's lab to use. He told Peter that it was where the research was done for all things related to the Avengers.

But Peter wasn't really listening. His head was kind of empty, or slowed down, for lack of better word. Apparently, having your secret outed about being a vigilante to a multi billionaire, also known as Iron Man, who plans to tell Captain America, is enough to put him in a state of shock.

He didn't realize the elevator had opened until Tony was hitting the back of his head, again.

"Seriously kid, do you need a Red Bull or something?" Tony suggested. Peter ignored him and stepped out into the floor. Or floors, per say. It was like the penthouse of the tower. He couldn't help but be a little excited. He was after all, in the same area as where the Avengers spent their time. "So Peter," Tony started, pushing him farther into the room. "Here is what you would call the living area."

Peter halted. "Where is everyone?"

"The team?" Tony clarified. "I don't know. They're off somewhere, probably killing some Nazis or something of the sort."

Peter coughed. "What?"

"That's a story for a different time… Oh look! There's the Cap," Tony said, pointing to a man who'd just rounded the corridor. A very tall man.

"Tony, what's going on?" _the_ Captain America asked. _Holy shit,_ Peter was looking at Captain America.

"I'd like you to meet the intern I've been talking about, who by night is also-"

"Still an intern," Peter interjected, pushing away from Tony. "I'm an intern day _and_ night," he said, still star struck.

"That is not what we agreed to, Peter," Tony said, still looking at the Cap. Peter fumed, seemingly ready to straight up hit Tony. But due to the Captain standing right there, he decided now was not the occasion to delve in his fantasies.

"What is going on here Tony?" the Cap asked, looking back and forth trying to discern answers.

"Well you see, Peter here is my little secret finding. He's actually-"

Peter stopped Tony again. "Why do we have to tell him?"

"Seriously Peter, you chose now question this?" Tony sighed, in his over dramatic way, and shook his head in a demeaning manner.

"I was never 'on board' with this!" Peter said, raising his voice. "This was all you! You outed me! You never stopped to think what I wanted! We even went over this. This is why I was angry in the first place."

"I actually did stop to think, I just didn't end up coming to that verdict," Tony explained. Peter laughed humorlessly.

"Can someone please tell me what's going on?" the Cap interjected, his voice taking on a military like bark.

"He's Spiderman," Tony said as fast as he could.

"Are you fuck- are you kidding me?" Peter yelled. Peter turned to the Captain, who was frozen still. "Excuse me Mr. America-"

"Steve is fine," he said quietly, shocked.

"Steve," Peter corrected. "But I'd prefer if you kept this little secret to yourself. And you," he said, turning back towards Tony. "You can consider this little 'internship,' finished. You have officially made my life that much harder and I cannot find myself to be bothered anymore."

"Come on now, Peter lets calm down and talk about this," Tony tried.

"Just shut up for once in your life, will you?" Peter pleaded. "JARVIS, do these windows open or do I have to take the elevator?"

"I will open the nearest one, Mr. Parker."

Peter brushed past Steve, who was still in the same place. He stood next to the open window.

"Tony, if you have any, and I mean any shame at all, please do not ever contact me again." And with that Peter jumped out the window, much preferring that than the awkward ride down the elevator.

There was a moment of silence before Steve spoke. "What the hell Stark?"

**Fin. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys. I know I said I would have this chapter a lot earlier, but pretty recently a friend of mine killed himself. I was in a bad slump for about a week, and as a result my grades dropped pretty drastically. It took a while to finish up the chapter while trying to bring my grades back up. They are, afterall, my first priority. **

**Chapter 6! In this chapter, a lot happens. There's probably more action than all the other chapters yet. Also, please excuse how the timeline with Peter going to college and when he got his acceptance doesn't make much sense. I tried to make it as reasonable and realistic as possible. One last thing, for those of you who've seen the newest Avengers movie, please be warned that the plotline may not be exact because I'm doing this for the most part off the top of my head. Also, it's a crossover, so things will be different.**

**Thanks to my beta Emmalie22!**

**Anyways, Enjoy!**

* * *

**BEFORE**

"_Can someone please tell me what's going on?" the Cap interjected, his voice taking on an military like bark._

"_He's Spiderman," Tony said as fast as he could._

"_Are you fuck- are you kidding me?" Peter yelled. Peter turned to the Captain, who was frozen still. "Excuse me Mr. America-"_

"_Steve is fine," he said quietly, shocked._

"_Steve," Peter corrected. "But I'd prefer if you kept this little secret to yourself. And you," he said, turning back towards Tony. "You can consider this little 'internship,' finished. You have officially made my life that much harder and I cannot find myself to be bothered anymore."_

"_Come on now, Peter lets calm down and talk about this," Tony tried._

"_Just shut up for once in your life, will you?" Peter pleaded. "JARVIS, do these windows open or do I have to take the elevator?"_

"_I will open the nearest one, Mr. Parker."_

_Peter brushed past Steve, who was still in the same place. He stood next to the open window._

"_Tony, if you have any, and I mean any shame at all, please do not ever contact me again." And with that Peter jumped out the window, much preferring that than the awkward ride down the elevator._

_There was a moment of silence before Steve spoke. "What the hell Stark?" _

**CHAPTER 6 **

_Four months later._

"Hey Peter?" his aunt spoke in a hopeful tone.

"Yes Aunt May?" Peter replied with a sigh, while loosening his grip on his suitcase.

"Just don't forget about me when you get caught up in the college life," Aunt May asked quietly. Peter couldn't help but feel guilty for a crime he didn't commit, and drew her in for a hug, his luggage long forgotten.

"Of course I won't forget you! I'll be back every holiday, every vacation, you name it. If there's time off I'll be there," he reassured before releasing her. "Besides, I'm not even leaving the state. Columbia isn't too far. It only takes a little less than an hour to get home."

"Oh, I know Peter," she said, sniffling. Was that a tear in her eye? "It's just, the house is kind of quiet without you."

Peter held her close once again. "Don't worry Aunt May, you'll learn to love the peace."

She laughed. "Alright Peter," she said, with little belief in what Peter had suggested. "I'm just happy you got into a school where all the endowments make it so affordable."

Peter chuckled. His Aunt sighed, "It's time for me to go."

"Let me walk you out then," Peter said, holding the door open. He too, was trying to keep his emotions in check. The reality that he was leaving his aunt to live on his own for however long hadn't sunk in until then. The fact that he'd faced villains and criminals seemed insignificant, because he'd always had someone to come home to. Now he had a roommate that he'd have to hide his secret from.

"Thank you Peter," she lauded, stepping away from him to admire. "Oh, my college boy!" she sighed. "I love you Peter."

"Love you too, Aunt May," Peter replied with a smile. Before he knew it, Aunt May was off in a taxi and Peter couldn't help but worry. Without his uncle around, she'd be all alone back home. Although, he had asked a neighbor to keep an eye on her and check in now and then.

A few minutes and one cup of coffee later found Peter in his new dorm. He had yet to meet his roommate. His stuff was unpacked, and frankly his side of the room was fairly bland. Regardless, Peter had all the mattered to him, and under his bed was a small safe complete with a code only he knew. The safe contained his suit and anything regarding to his kind of secret identity. He still fumed at the thought of Tony.

Peter was surprised, to say the least when he had received his acceptance letter from Columbia. He assumed it had to do with his internship with Tony and Bruce. Peter lay back on his bed as he thought about the day Bruce had brought up colleges.

"_So Peter, have you thought about post high school education?" Bruce asked suddenly, not looking up from his work. _

"_Well yeah," Peter started, pausing. "But I actually haven't heard back from one of the colleges yet." _

"_Can I ask where?" Bruce wondered, looking up at Peter while adjusting the glasses on his face._

"_Um, yeah. I'm waiting on Columbia. I've always kind of had this dream to go to an Ivy league school; both my mom and dad did actually. But I want to stay close to my Aunt, and Columbia seemed like a good median." _

_Bruce nodded. "Well, if you haven't heard back yet then I suppose it's not too late for Tony and I to put a good word in?"_

"_You don't have to!" Peter exclaimed, surprised. Although, it would be much appreciated. _

"_It's not a problem," Bruce assured. _

"_Thank you, so, so much," Peter flushed. _

Peter was aroused from his reminiscing by the sudden opening of the door. His fingers clenched and he sat up, his back ramrod straight. The spider sense in the hindmost part of his head itched agilely.

"Hello?" a blonde head said as he peered around the corner. He spoke with an accent Peter couldn't put his finger on. As he stepped fully into the room with only a backpack and a duffel, Peter noticed how _big_ he was. Not necessarily his actual size (_he was still tall_), but his ego, or maybe his personality. It radiated off of him, and although he seemed cool and collected, it looked as if he were ready to spring.

"Hey," he started again. "My name is Pietro," he paused, as if waiting for Peter's acknowledgment. It was never received. "I'm your new roommate, I think."

* * *

"Stark," Steve berated. "and you too, Bruce?" Steve turned, his hand pinching the bridge of his nose. "What part of we're a team don't you comprehend? We don't keep secrets, and especially not ones that have to do with the scepter."

Bruce had the decency to look culpable, whereas Tony only flared up. Anyone that knew him understood that he didn't respond well to authorities. And definitely not ones that tried to tell him he'd done wrong.

"Listen up, Cap. I don't know about you, but I'm tired. Tired of saving the world; tired of knowing that there will always be another threat just around the corner. And guess what? Eventually, one's going to get the better of us, and then what happens? Huh?"

"Then we go down together as a team," Steve concluded, white knuckling his shield.

"And after that? What about the rest of the world, do they just get to follow us to the grave too? Ultron was supposed to eliminate the threats before they even made it to us- he was going save more civilians than we ever could."

"Keyword Tony, he was _supposed_ to. Instead, you went behind our backs and look what happened. Now there's some raging artificial intelligence dead set on killing us and, god forbid, the rest of the world too!" Steve argued, his voice raising with each sentence.

"I'd like to inform you, Captain," he said with spite. "that that was _obviously_ not my intention!" Tony nearly yelled, his voice getting louder and louder.

"Will you all shut up?" Barton hissed raising from his perch on the bar stool. "As of now, we've got a much bigger problem on our hands than the 'blame game!' Does _anyone_ know what the next step is?"

"We know Ultron isn't reliant on one body; he can hop from host to host. How does he travel?" Natasha inquired, stepping into the picture.

"Through technology, or the internet," Bruce offered. "Assuming the '_other guy_' he talked about killing was JARVIS, which would explain why he wasn't in commission, then he probably works on the same frequency, for lack of better word."

Tony nodded along, jumping back into science mode. "Right now, Ultron has access to the entire internet. If he took down Jarvis he can basically get into anything he wants."

"What _does_ he want?" Steve inquired, his brows furrowed.

"He believes that humankind is the problem," Natasha pointed out. "But he also dislikes Stark the most."

"There's one thing we have in common, then," Steve muttered.

"I can hear you, you know," Tony said spitefully.

"Good," Steve said with finality.

Bruce sighed frustrated, and redirected the conversation. "So we know what he wants, and he knows where to find us. We need someplace off the grid."

"I know just the place," Barton said. Natasha gave him a look that no one could decipher. Barton didn't meet her gaze.

"Is it on any database at all?" Bruce asked?

"No," Clint replied. "None at all. It'll stay that way too," he quietly threatened.

* * *

Peter may have only been two days into classes but everything seemed to be going well. He had yet to put on his suit; it was much quieter on campus. He couldn't help but enjoy the sense of normalcy of his new daily schedule.

His roommate, Pietro, was a little off. Whenever he was around Peter's spider sense hummed very faintly. He tried not to think much about it, because something as simple as a cat could set Peter off. Pietro was a very intimidating person in more ways than one, so it wasn't very surprising. At least that's what Peter told himself.

He still wore his web-shooters, but in order to avoid questions, he'd disguised them a bit. One he placed a watch face on, and the other was dubbed as a pedometer of sorts. It'd worked so far.

"Peter!" someone called in the distance. "Wait up!" He recognized the voice as Pietro's. As of now, he seemed like a decent person, if not a little eccentric though. Peter had also figured out that Pietro was attending college here, but came from Sokovia of Eastern Europe. He hadn't heard of it until meeting him.

"Oh, hey Pietro," Peter said as he neared. "What's up?"

Pietro grinned. "I have to show you something quick, do you have time?"

Peter sighed. "This better be good."

"Trust me Peter, you're going to love her."

_Her?_ Peter guessed he'd find out. He followed Pietro down the block, a few steps behind.

"Is this going to take too long? Because I do have classes I need to get to," Peter said, stressed. He didn't want to start his school year off by ditching classes while he was on scholarship.

"Quick _is_ my middle name, so you don't need to worry about your class," Pietro said as he came to a halt. He looked around, grinning as he beckoned someone over. She took steps towards them in a paramount manner, which did nothing to ease his neuroticism. "Peter, this is my sister Wanda."

Alarms went off like rockets in Peter's head as he took a step back.

"She has something to show you," Pietro continued as his sister reached out and brushed his hand, almost as if she were wanting to shake his hand. Later, Peter would berate himself for being so incautious. He never thought that with a touch of her fingers that he would be a crumbling, comatose-like, mess.

* * *

Pietro grinned. "Good night, little Peter," he said as he, with great difficulty, picked up Peter in a fireman's hold. The kid packed more muscle than he let on. "Good work, sis. He will be pleased."

Wanda fidgeted, biting her nails. "Let's just hurry, I don't know how long he will be out. There is something odd about him." Pietro nodded in agreeance, quickly checking the street for any bystanders. Luckily, everyone was at class and Peter had taken the back way with Pietro to get here.

He continued further down the street with Wanda trailing behind him, constantly looking over her shoulder. She seemed even more fidgety than normal, and she already had a skittish quality to her. Whether it was because of her abilities or their past; Pietro didn't know or care. She was his sister and that's all that mattered to him.

Once they had reached the corner, a small black car screeched to a halt before them. Wanda popped the trunk and Pietro dumped Peter into the back, and quickly enough they were off, leaving dust in their tracks.

* * *

_Peter paused, looking at his surroundings. There seemed to be a lack of color, and everything was muted, grey, and dreary. He wasn't sure of where he was exactly, but there was an obvious sense of familiarity. And while he did recognize his location on some level, there was absolutely no sense of comfort that came with it. His guts churned and his spider sense would not let up. There was a constant dinging in the back of his head. _

_After he got over his confusion, Peter looked around. He was in a house, an apartment more specifically. He knew it from somewhere, but he was still having difficulty connecting the dots. It was driving him crazy, and he found himself hastily moving around the home. As far as he could tell, it was empty, but he was still on high alert due to the insistent ringing of his spider sense. _

_His posture straightened immediately after hearing a small moan.  
_"_Peter," it whispered and hissed. Another one joined it, "Peter," they moaned. He followed the voices down a hallway, panicked. "Why, Peter?" they continued on. "Why did you do this to us?" _

_Peter quicked his pace, his palms sweaty with anticipation. He knew them from somewhere. He started to frantically hit doors open in the seemingly never ending hallway as the cacophony of two, distinct voices assaulted him._

_Finally, Peter came to a slow halt as he knew he had reached the door that hid the people. His hand shaking and his heart beating, he reached out achingly slowly towards the doorknob. He wished he hadn't opened the door at the sight of the two people he held dearest to his heart that lay on the other side. He suddenly recognized the apartment as Gwen's apartment, and it was twisted and warped into an awful nightmare version of its past self. _

_Peter let out a pitiful whimper as he stumbled and dropped to his knees in front of both of them, both Gwen and Aunt May. Their broken fingers reached feebly out to him; to ward him away or ask for his help, Peter couldn't tell. He wanted to run away and find whoever did this to them, the person who sliced at their skin and broke their bones, the person who caused so much pain to them._

"_You did this to us, Peter," both Gwen and Aunt May said, their lips coated in red. Peter choked._

"_I d-didn't!" he cried. "Please! Tell me who did this!" He pleaded. _

"_You did," They respond in sync again. _

"_How could you?" Gwen said alone this time. "I trusted you Peter, and this is what you do?" she sobbed, heartbrokenly. Then Aunt May took her turn._

"_My nephew, and the death of me!" She said, obviously in pain but with no less venom. "First your Uncle, and then me? We cared for you, and this is how you repay us?" She questioned with hate and misery. _

_Peter had tears trailing down his face, and dripping off his chin. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry," he cried continuously. "Please forgive me, I didn't mean to!" _

"_It's too late, you've killed us," they said before Peter awoke with a start. _

Peter came to very suddenly, jumping forward sharply. "_Shit_," he groaned as his forehead collided with something hard. Quickly enough he came to the conclusion he was in the back of a car. There was no light, and Peter felt like crap. He was sluggish, stiff, and sore. He also couldn't shake the kind of limbo he'd been in after the girl, Wanda, had touched him.

It had shaken him to his very core. It was what he feared would happen to Gwen and Aunt May if his secret was ever disclosed to the wrong people. Then, their deaths and pain would _really_ be his fault. That's not something he could handle.

Peter decided that he should focus on the current predicament he was in. He now knew he should've trusted his spider sense about Pietro, and definitely with Wanda. He didn't know so much harm could be done with a single touch, but looks could be deceiving and that was the last time Peter would let that happen.

His first thought would be to kick open the trunk, which wouldn't be a problem with his strength. But Peter had no clue if his kidnappers took him because they knew he was Spiderman, or for another reason that didn't involve his secret identity. If it was the latter, then he didn't want to risk it. Especially with the horrifying dream he'd just had.

Of course, that opened a whole new can of worms. The girl, Wanda, had reduced him to a mess with just a touch of her fingers. If she had some sort of ability, like himself, then why would they be going after ordinary Peter Parker? It would have to be because he was Spiderman.

But Peter thought harder, and then he realized there was a good chance they were going after him because of his relations with Tony Stark. Maybe they wanted information from him regarding the billionaire and they had no clue he was Spiderman… Either way, it was best to play ignorant until he found out what was going on. That meant no spidering his way out of this one for the time being.

* * *

"How long until we get to this 'safe spot?" Tony complained.

"Seriously, Stark? Could you be any less impatient?" Natasha pointed out. "We'll get there when we get there."

There was no reply from Barton. His eyes were trained purely on the sky, until a beeping caught everyone's attention.

"What the hell is that?" Barton thought aloud. The beeping increased in frequency until it became one, long, droning tone. Suddenly, a video feed appeared on all the screens within the hovercraft.

"This does not look good," Thor pointed out.

"_Hello," _Ultron's sickly voice greeted. "_It's a shame it has come to this point. I'm not a fan of violence; it would've been much nicer if we could've all just talked." _The video feed showed some sort of underground area that was dank and murky in appearance. A cage was visible, and it looked as if someone was in it. They weren't moving.

"What the hell do you want?" Tony demanded forcefully. "And what did you do to JARVIS?"

The feed continued on, without any recognition towards Tony. "I don't think he can hear us," said Banner.

Ultron continued, "_But alas, this is not the case. The measures I've had to take, but oh well. There needn't be any pain inflicted upon the boy-"_

"What boy?" Tony interjected. The cloying voice of Ultron grated on his ears, and it left little to the imagination as to what kind of _creature _he was.

"Shh!" waspishly hushed Barton. Suddenly the person in the cage looked a lot more familiar to Tony, and his stomach began to fold in on itself.

And with a tone of finality that left absolutely no room for arbitration, Ultron started, "_I have a few requirements you, Tony Stark specifically, must agree to. Or, how do you humans say it? Yes, Peter Parker bites the dust."_

* * *

**TBC!**


	7. UPDATE! NOT ABANDONED!

So sorry I have not updated guys. I want to let you know **this story is not forgotten**! Some people who DMed me know I had a concussion from hockey that kept me from doing much (ie; looking at a computer screen), for about two months, and I did get over that. However, not even a month later I ended up the hospital with an illness that threw me off for a good few weeks (morphine and the works), and yes I have recovered from that as well. As you can imagine I'm pretty behind in school work and I'm working on my PSEO applications and the extra stuff that comes with those because of my dip in grades due to health. On the brighter side, I got my drivers license!

Anyways, I am going to pick up this story again in a few months after school is out. I can't give it the attention it needs right now and frankly my grades are more important at this point. So this _semi-hiatus_ will suck but this is _not abandoned_. **Thank you all for your support!**


	8. Chapter 7

**EDIT (11/25): I added in line breaks which fanfiction seemingly liked to get rid of. I'm sorry if that made reading this pretty difficult. **

**This wait was soooo long and I'm very sorry. I also have this story up on Wattpad and I updated it there but I forgot to here. Not much of an excuse but it is the truth. FYI, this chapter is also "un-betaed."**

**Before: **

"How long until we get to this 'safe spot?" Tony complained.

"Seriously, Stark? Could you be any less impatient?" Natasha pointed out. "We'll get there when we get there."

There was no reply from Barton. His eyes were trained purely on the sky, until a beeping caught everyone's attention.

"What the hell is that?" Barton thought aloud. The beeping increased in frequency until it became one, long, droning tone. Suddenly, a video feed appeared on all the screens within the hovercraft.

"This does not look good," Thor pointed out.

"_Hello," _Ultron's sickly voice greeted. "_It's a shame it has come to this point. I'm not a fan of violence; it would've been much nicer if we could've all just talked." _The video feed showed some sort of underground area that was dank and murky in appearance. A cage was visible, and it looked as if someone was in it. They weren't moving.

"What the hell do you want?" Tony demanded forcefully. "And what did you do to JARVIS?"

The feed continued on, without any recognition towards Tony. "I don't think he can hear us," said Banner.

Ultron continued, "_But alas, this is not the case. The measures I've had to take, but oh well. There needn't be any pain inflicted upon the boy-"_

"What boy?" Tony interjected. The cloying voice of Ultron grated on his ears, and it left little to the imagination as to what kind of _creature _he was.

"Shh!" waspishly hushed Barton. Suddenly the person in the cage looked a lot more familiar to Tony, and his stomach began to fold in on itself.

And with a tone of finality that left absolutely no room for arbitration, Ultron started, "_I have a few requirements you, Tony Stark specifically, must agree to. Or, how do you humans say it? Yes, Peter Parker bites the dust."_

**Now: **

Pietro was silent as he thought about Peter, who was currently sitting quietly in a cage in the abandoned HYDRA warehouse that Ultron had set up base in. Too quietly, might he add. He figured any sane person would probably be a lot more panicked right now, but who knows, maybe he was in some sort of shock?

"Wanda, do you notice anything wrong with our prisoner?" He squinted carefully at Peter, expecting him to react in some way even though Pietro knew he was too far away to hear anything. "He seems calm."

"I guess so," she stated, obviously thinking about other things. Pietro couldn't shake the feeling that something was _wrong_. Call it a gut feeling, but he hadn't got along this far by not trusting his instincts. A cold draft that ran through the base whipped his sister's hair and brought her attention back towards him. "Sometimes I feel like Ultron is not telling us the whole truth. He wants to eliminate the Avengers, but there is more to it than that," she said frustrated. "If I could just see into his head!"

"Stop it," Pietro admonished. "Stop that. You know that we have to do this," he harshly whispered, clutching the photo in his pocket. "We have to get Stark." He glanced back towards Peter, running a hand through his hair. Pietro felt guilty about dragging him into this, before remembering that he willingly worked with Tony Stark, and the guilt vanished.

"You know, when I saw Peter Parker's fears, it was the fear of the people close to him dying. They told him it was his fault, and it destroyed him," Wanda stated.

"How terribly heroic of him," Pietro mumbled. Wanda continued on, ignoring him.

"Tony Stark was exactly the same way. He'd do anything to protect what he cares about most, even if it destroys everyone else in the process."

Pietro interrupted, "And this is why he is dangerous."

"Yes," Wanda said lowly. "Dangerous, but not malicious. This is why I am afraid of Ultron, for he is both."

* * *

Peter listened silently as the siblings discussed him. They had absolutely no clue he could hear them, which lead him to believe they knew nothing of his abilities. It both relieved him and scared him, because while Gwen and his Aunt were safe for the time being, he was not. His fear was that his loved ones would be used as leverage against him, but this time the tables had turned. He was now most probably the leverage for someone else; presumably Tony Stark. It wasn't a situation Peter had ever been in before.

He tuned into Pietro's worries about Peter being too calm. To be honest he was anything but calm, but if Peter had gotten good at anything since taking up vigilante activities it was behaving well in stressful situations.

"Sometimes I feel like Ultron is not telling us the whole truth. He wants to eliminate the Avengers, but there is more to it than that," he heard Wanda say. Who was Ultron? "If I could just see into his head!" she yelled, sounding frustrated. _What_ was Ultron? Wanda obviously wasn't human in the same sense as himself, and neither was this Ultron. He wouldn't be surprised if Pietro was the same way.

"Stop it," Pietro admonished his sister. "Stop that. You know that we have to do this," he said as he tensed up. "We have to get Stark." He glanced back towards Peter, running a hand through his hair. Peter almost thought he looked regretful, but quickly dismissed the thought as Pietro scowled in his direction. Peter continued playing aloof.

"You know, when I saw Peter Parker's fears, it was the fear of the people close to him dying. They told him it was his fault, and it destroyed him," Wanda said, not sounding surprised at all. So she _was_ in his head. Peter felt strangely violated in ways he'd never felt before. He didn't feel comfortable with the fact that she could see- _saw_ his greatest weaknesses. She continued on, oblivious to Peter listening very carefully.

"Tony Stark was exactly the same way. He'd do anything to protect what he cares about most, even if it destroys everyone else in the process." Peter very much agreed with this statement, not that Tony would actually let people know that about him.

Pietro interrupted his sister, "And this is why he is dangerous."

"Yes," Wanda said very slowly. "Dangerous, but not malicious. This is why I am afraid of Ultron, for he is both." _Well that wasn't ominous_, Peter thought.

* * *

Peter assumed it had only been ten minutes since the siblings had left before the infamous Ultron came into the room. Peter had used that time to really inspect his surroundings. He was in a cage with wrought iron bars that went from floor to ceiling. He could probably bend them enough to escape, but that would draw some really unwanted attention to him. They were skinny enough that he couldn't fit through them, but that wasn't so surprising. However, he noticed that at the very top of the cage, a good thirty feet up due to the warehouse like feel of the room, was a small gap between where the bars and the ceiling met. A normal person would have a very difficult time making it up there and then down, but Peter wasn't exactly normal.

His scheming was interrupted by some heavy, but surprisingly graceful steps. His head snapped up, taking in as much as he could as fast as he could.

"Peter Parker," a humanoid machine said in a voice that held more emotion than Peter thought a robot could. This thing that Peter assumed to be Ultron, stood very tall and proud. He didn't know if a robot could have an insane look in its eyes, but this one did. Besides the fact that this robot could obviously think for itself, something felt very off about it.

"That's me," he mumbled. "What do you want?"

"I'm sorry you have been dragged into this mess," he- it continued on, ignoring Peter. "Another innocent endangered by Tony Stark- his own intern. How tragic," it drawled. It sounded startlingly remorseful to Peter. "But alas, I had no choice. He seems to care very much about you; he is always watching you!"

"Maybe because he's a bit of a stalker, you know?" Peter said, nervously. "He doesn't really like me at all, so you should probably just let me go," he pleaded, a bit nervous at the literal screws loose in this thing's head.

"No can do, Peter. I've already sent my proposal to the Avengers, to Stark. If they don't abide, I'm afraid I'll have to kill you. It's a shame really, I do hate violence."

Peter shuddered, he was so screwed. Why would Tony help him at all after Peter said such awful things and forced him and Bruce away?

"They have 48, no 46 hours now to fulfill my deal. An eye for an eye, a man for a man?" Ultron said almost happily. Peter's stomach dropped, knowing what would come next.

"Tony Stark in exchange for Peter Parker sounds pretty good to me, don't you think?"

* * *

The gentle dying hum of the hovercraft was all that could be heard on the peaceful chunk of land where a quaint farmhouse lay. The silence was broken by the brash voice of Tony Stark.

"What is this place?" He asked, disgusted. "It smells horrible," he mumbled while sniffing the air.

"That's the smell of the country, Stark," Natasha affirmed.

"What is this place, Barton?" Tony asked genuinely. Silence met his question. Clint was already at the doorsteps of the house, a content look on his face. Tony had scarcely seen the agent at such ease. He took a moment to look around; even he could admire the serenity that the land offered. He almost envied whoever lived here; a life away from all the madness his provided. The luscious trees and the partly cloudy sky dulled the severity of the situation he was currently in. Tony quickly jogged to catch up to the rest of the group who trailed behind Barton.

"Honey, I'm home!" Clint yelled. _Honey?_ Tony had an idea of what was about to happen. He peered over Clint as he shuffled in behind the rest of the rag-tag Avengers; startled but the literal homey feeling he got just standing in the doorway. Quick pitter patter could be heard across the old, squeaky oak floorboards (which Tony could fix), and two small children came into view.

"Daddy!" They screamed in unison excitedly. Clint crouched as they launched into his arms.

"Wait what?" Tony exclaimed, astounded. "How did I not know about this!" he cried. He was hardly visibly shocked, but he could add this to his list.

"Well," Natasha started. "It was never even on the computers to begin with, let alone any documents."

"And it will stay that way," Barton said with finality. There was no room for arguing as he set his kids down. Tony didn't say anything but silently promised his secrecy. The children then ran for 'Aunty Nat,' and she surprised Tony by showing just as much love in return. Tony was reeling, and he was sure Rogers was also if his arched eyebrows were anything to go by.

"There you are," Barton said as he brought his assumed wife into his arms. It was the most intimacy that Tony had ever seen the man reveal. "Everyone," he said stepping beside his wife, "this is my wife, Laura. And this is our home."

* * *

"Don't you think we've already done enough, Tony?" Bruce argued, clearly frustrated. The trio that also included Steve was standing next to a pile of chopped fire wood. Well, more like _piles_, really. But Steve's was much larger than Tony's, much to his annoyance. "You've already revealed _Peter's_ secret to too many people. It wasn't yours to give out in the first place!"

"Well it happened; I've moved on, you should too. We have bigger fish to fry right now, Banner. Peter is currently sitting in Ultron's lair, or something," Tony said.

"Can I say something?" Steve asked.

"No!" Tony and Bruce yelled together, their eyes not leaving each others.

"It's not just about him wanting to keep it a secret now. It could be vital information to our mission- our mission to save Peter!" Tony exclaimed, clearly very fed up with this conformation.

"I hate to admit this," Steve tried, but was interrupted by Tony's huff. "But I actually have to agree with Stark on this one," he said.

"HA! Wait, what?" Tony asked, looking at Steve. "Huh, I was almost offended," he muttered. "But look, even Spangles agrees with me!" Steve rolled his eyes.

On the porch, Thor, Natasha, and Clint had stepped out.

Thor leaned over to whisper in Clint's good ear, "Do you know what this secret they are talking about is?" He shook his head. Neither Clint or Natasha could actually hear the conversation that was going on, but apparently Thor could. They watched (or listened, in Thor's case) quietly for a few minutes more before Thor spoke again.

"Bruce!" he yelled. "Why is this Peter Parker also known as the Man of Spider?" Clint's mouth dropped, and everyone saw Bruce visibly pinch the bridge of his nose. Tony only laughed loudly.

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